


Rules for Living, Rules for Life

by wildforce71



Category: Power Rangers, Power Rangers Samurai
Genre: Gen, not really a spoiler, teeny mention of Megaforce
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-08-16
Updated: 2014-08-16
Packaged: 2018-02-13 11:17:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,519
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2148723
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wildforce71/pseuds/wildforce71
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Five things Jayden learned from his team, and one he always knew.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Rules for Living, Rules for Life

**Author's Note:**

  * For [LoveChilde](https://archiveofourown.org/users/LoveChilde/gifts).
  * Inspired by [Proof of Love](https://archiveofourown.org/works/611653) by [fandomlver](https://archiveofourown.org/users/fandomlver/pseuds/fandomlver). 



> Spiritual successor to fandomlver's Proof of Love, but no need to read that one first. Enjoy. :D
> 
> Slight mention of Megaforce in the last section; you don't need to know what's going on there, just that Mentor and Jayden were watching a Megaforce battle.
> 
> Sol insists I add here that she helped with title and beta only, but really if it wasn't for her this wouldn't have been written.

You aren’t expecting much from your team, once the war is finished. Historically, when Xandred was pushed back to the Sanzu, the teams always disbanded. It was considered unwise to have them too close together, in case it drew unwelcome attention. You’ve been expecting to return to - well, begin a - quiet life with Lauren and Ji.

You should have guessed that if any team was going to toss aside centuries of tradition, it would be this team. Your team.

Mia turns up one morning, flustered and already talking when she enters the living room. “ - before class, I only have a little time, so I really need…”

“Mia,” you interrupt. “Breathe. What’s wrong?”

She breathes obediently. “My roommate ate the samples I made for class, and if I don’t hand them in, my grade gets halved. I need to make them again, and I need you to come help me shop, because there’s a lot of them.”

“How did you get them last time?” you ask curiously.

“I didn’t buy them all at once. Please? Please? I called Mike, but he’s busy, and Kevin’s not even in the state, and Emily’s off with Serena seeing a specialist.”

You nod quietly; you didn’t have much planned for today anyway. “Sure. I can help you.”

You’ve helped Ji shop - you’ve helped Mia shop - but this is different. Last time you went shopping, it was a small store where you knew the owner. The staff here are polite, but there’s none of the deference you didn’t realise you were expecting.

“Rule one,” Mia tells you, hooking a basket firmly over your arm. “Most people don’t live in a town founded by their ancestors. They don’t get personal guides around the store.”

“All right,” you agree.

You don’t ask the question, but she hears it anyway. “They walk around and get their own,” she tells you. “Come on.”

Mia cooks a double batch of the samples for her class and leaves one behind for you and Ji. And if several of the bags you brought home contained things you wanted, rather than her ingredients - Mia won’t tell, and what Ji doesn’t know won’t hurt him.

*

Emily wanders in a few days later, beaming when she finds you practising. “Morning, Jayden!”

“Morning.” You finish the movements, knowing she won’t mind, and catch the towel she pitches at you. “How did Serena’s test go?”

“They have a new treatment plan that they think will help her.”

“I’m glad,” you say honestly. “So what are you doing here? Where’s Mike?”

“I have a school project, and I thought you could help me.”

“A school project,” you repeated blankly. Ji took care of your schooling, and you learned just enough to pass the state homeschooling exams. “What can I help you with?”

“I’m supposed to pick a town and write about how it got founded, and I thought…”

“Since the Shiba family founded Panorama City…”

“You might have some records around somewhere?” she says hopefully. “I mean, I’d censor them of course. No one would know why the Shibas really came here. Do you think you have anything?”

“Sure, let’s have a look.”

Ji is away, up at the Tengen Gate. You still have to fight the impulse to duck as you enter his study, scanning the neat rows of scrolls and books. “Here,” you say finally, reaching for one scroll, cradling it carefully in both hands. “Shiba Hiro, the first of the clan to settle here.”

Emily takes it gently, scanning the first few lines before shaking her head. “I can’t read this.”

“I can.” You glance over the neat rows of kanji, as familiar to you as your own name. “It’s an older dialect. I learned it when I learned English. Tell me what you need to know.”

You teach Emily the history of your family, and she shows you how to present a report like this to get the right score. “Rule two,” she says with a grin when you note this. “In school you get grades, not scores. Now find me that quote about designing the town layout.”

*

Antonio’s schedule is wildly erratic; for a month and a half he comes by every two weeks, and then he’s gone for almost a month, and then he’s back, sleeping in Mike’s room for four days. Ji has given up remarking on it, and Lauren, when she’s home, only smiles and invites him to spar.

So it’s not surprising for you to find him sprawled across the stools in the living room one afternoon, arm flung across his eyes.

“Late night last night?” you ask mildly.

“Nah.” He rolls over, sitting up. “Sometimes Lauren’s nice to me if she thinks I’m not feeling well.”

“Lauren’s always nice to you, she thinks you’re good for me.”

“Excellent; no reason for you to say no, then.”

“What am I not saying no to?”

You don’t expect an answer, and you don’t get one; Antonio just grins, hustling you out of the house and waving at a bemused Mentor as you pass him in the garden. You head into town, chatting amiably about Antonio’s fishing and your training and the various bits of news you’ve each heard from your teammates.

You know what a movie theater is, the same way you knew what an amusement park is, but you’ve never been in one. Antonio catches your look as you go in, and grins. “No fear, compadre. It’s lunch time on a school day, and this movie’s been showing for almost a month. There won’t be anyone here.”

He insists on popcorn as well as some terribly sugary treat, and massive buckets of soda. The popcorn’s swimming in butter - “Artificial flavouring,” Antonio tells you, “none of the taste and about seven times more likely to give you a heart attack” - and half of it sloshes out as you follow Antonio to your seats. He doesn’t seem to care much, so you don’t worry about it either.

“What is this we’re watching?” you ask as the lights go down.

“Iron Man 3.”

You slant a glance at him, knowing he’ll know even if he can’t see you. “I haven’t seen Iron Man 1 or 2.”

“Or any of the other six movies in the universe,” Antonio agrees, “but the great thing about these movies? You can still enjoy them even with no idea what’s going on.”

It doesn’t stop him trying to explain things, but as he invariably gets distracted by something happening on screen, it’s not very helpful. It doesn’t really matter. The movie doesn’t mean much to you, but he’s clearly enjoying it, and he’s gone to some trouble to make sure you enjoy it too.

“Rule three,” he says, and now you’re fairly sure your whole team is in on this; you’re just not sure yet what the point is. “It doesn’t matter what the movie is, if you’re watching it with friends.”

*

Kevin’s schedule is worse than Antonio’s; he’s all but guaranteed a spot on the Olympic team, but he’s training all hours to make up for the time he missed. You get messages, occasionally, passed through the others mostly. You haven't seen him since he left with the others after Xandred's defeat.

You're not surprised, though, to walk out of the house one morning and find him practising in the yard.

He doesn't talk until you've finished sparring; it's oddly comforting, fighting someone you know so well, someone whose moves you can predict so accurately. Sparring with Lauren is sparring with a stranger, no matter how much you both pretend otherwise. "Thanks," he says finally, catching the towel you throw him.

"Sure. No swimming today?"

"Coach is out of town. Extra training tomorrow instead. Want to come into town with me? I wanted to go by the bookstore."

"All right," you agree. You're curious what Kevin's Rule is going to turn out to be. Beside, Ji's been making noises about needing a new ledger. You can pick him up a nice one.

Kevin drives now - you're not surprised to find his car is blue - and the drive into town is short. The search for a parking space is rather longer. Shiba Hiro did not have cars in mind when he designed Panorama City.

Kevin goes to ask about a book he's put on order and you wander around the shelves, picking out a nice ledger and pen and then just roaming. You have a vague thought that Lauren might like a book, but you can't think of anything that might interest her.

Eventually you realise that Kevin's been missing for a while, and you track him down in a corner. He's scanning the back of a book and doesn't look up when you approach.

"Ready?"

Kevin jumps, stuffing the book back on the shelf in a move that reminds you of Mike when he's caught pranking someone. "Jayden! You shouldn't sneak up on people. Are you ready?"

You reach past him and pluck the book back off the shelf. Kevin doesn't protest, just watches as you flip it over, frown, and flip it over again. "What is this?"

"Manga." Kevin turns it over in your hand and then opens it, demonstrating how to read it. "How do you not know about manga?" You give him a look and he shrugs. "Yeah, but it's Japanese."

"Recent?"

"Ish."

"Shiba family left Japan in the nineteen hundreds. I didn't learn about anything more recent than that. Isn't manga for children?"

"Some of it. This one isn't."

"It looks like a child's book."

"Rule Four. Don't judge a book by its' cover. Too many people do that already. This isn't a kids' book."

You turn the page, eye a graphic battle scene, and nod. "No, it's not. Are you buying it?"

"Nah. I was just looking."

He tries to take the book away from you; you block him without looking and add it firmly to your small pile. "Ready to go pay?"

"Yeah," Kevin says with a sudden grin. "Let's go."

*

Mostly, you talk to Mike and Emily by phone. Whenever Antonio's home, he uses his computer for video chats, and you've 'met' Serena and Emily's parents a couple of times. Mike, as far as you know, hasn't left the farm since he got there, even when Emily does.

So it's a little surprising when he wanders through the gate one afternoon. Lauren is gone again, Antonio's in Finland fishing, and Ji is engaged in the yearly Clear Out Of The Attic, even though nothing ever goes _into_ the attic inbetween times. You wouldn't be surprised to learn he had a comfortable chair and a pile of books up there.

"Dude, how do you stick the quiet?" Mike demands, dropping down beside you.

"Hello, Mike," you say, amused.

"Yeah. Seriously."

"This is what it was like before you moved in," you tell him, and don't add 'but it has been quiet lately'. You're still adjusting, that's all.

"Well, good thing I'm here," Mike says cheerfully. "D'you know where Antonio's TV is?"

"The one I'm not supposed to know about in case I have a fit of conscience and turn him in to Ji?" you say dryly.

"Yeah, that one. Come on," he adds at your look, "we all know Antonio can't keep secrets from you."

"It's in your room. Why?"

"My room, why?"

"That's where he sleeps."

Mike gives you a look, and you admit, "That's where Ji thinks he sleeps."

"Attaboy. Come with me."

On the way down the hall, he asks "Why does he keep the stuff Ji's not supposed to know about in the room Ji is supposed to know about?" and you're laughing when you open the door.

Mike spends a long time crawling around with wires and fiddling with connections and promising that you'll really enjoy this when it's working. You mostly nod and make affirmative noises, watching with interest. Eventually Mike gets it working and passes you a controller.

"Right, you're this guy here - not that one, Jayden, the other one! - and I'm this one, that you thought was you, and we have to try and kill the other guys. So what you want to do is, walk over here - no, this way, with me - and press your special combo attack - attack, attack!"

By the time Mike gives up, you're not sure you've learned anything other than there are a remarkable number of ways to die in a game this supposedly simple, and Mike gets very creative with his language when he's frustrated. You can't help laughing at him, though, and he laughs back.

"I'm finished in the attic!" Ji shouts from somewhere nearby, and there's a scramble that ends with the TV covered by a badly thrown sheet and Mike attempting to disguise his controller by swinging it like _nunchuku_. Ji glances in, nods placidly at Mike, and asks if he's staying for dinner.

"Yes please," Mike squeaks,and when he's gone he looks wide eyed at you. "Dude, he totally knows."

"He's Ji, Mike, he knows everything. Didn't you learn that last year?"

You carefully unplug the game and Mike packs it away. You thank him for coming, and he grins. "Rule Five. Quiet isn't always the best thing."

*

You watch the new team's Megazord vanish, knowing that somewhere in the city the five teens are celebrating another win. "I think we're in safe hands," you tell Ji. "Ready to go?"

"Yeah."

You're a few hundred yards down the road before you realise Ji isn't with you, and it takes a couple of minutes to turn and come back. Ji is leaning over his engine, scowling in disgust. "What's wrong?"

"Not sure yet. I don't think it's anything we can fix here, though."

Lauren picks up on the second ring, which is vaguely unusual for her. You explain what's happened and that you'll be a little longer getting home than you expected. By the time you're finished, Ji has determined that he really can't fix this himself and called roadside assistance to help out.

Antonio pulls up just ahead of the assistance van, brandishing a tool kit that turns out to contain just what you need. Ji deals with the worker, and you draw Antonio aside a little.

"Lauren called Mike and Emily," he says without needing to be asked. "She figured they might be able to help you."

"They're miles from here," you say blankly.

"Yeah, so they couldn't come, but they got the tool kit to Kevin, who was coming in this general direction for a meet, and I met him and picked it up, and here we are. Shame I didn't get here before Ji called his guy, he'll probably have to pay anyway."

"Doesn't matter." Antonio looks at you questioningly, and you grin. "Rule Six. A team is for life, not just for one war."

He grins delightedly, though whether because of the quote you're mangling or the sentiment, you're not sure. "Amen."

Ji comes back over, helmets in hand, and you head back to your bike and follow Antonio and Ji back towards Panorama City, and home.

**Author's Note:**

> Five things Jayden had to learn (from the other Rangers) about normal human life, after deactivation, and one thing he already knew. Background Jayden/Antonio more than welcome.


End file.
